Web of Blood
by aspiringactor
Summary: Monsters. Spiders. Future-tech & all that cool stuff! Oh and something about the end of the world. Something will definitely have to be done about that.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a re-write/re-vamp of another story of mine, called 'Fangs & Stingers.' The original has been deleted, and there will be many changes made plot-wise. **

**July 24th, 2102:**

Miguel O'hara, the most recent individual to don the mantle of Spider-man, was crawling along the long, narrow vent of a high-rise building. It was larger than most, which he was rather thankful for. And it was also much cleaner. _It's almost as if I designed this thing, _Miguel thought as he passed over a grate, like he had so many times. He was currently inside the Parker industries headquarters. It was the only corporation not owned by Alcemax, which was one of the reasons it had taken him so long to find it. Alcemax had done it's absolute best to hide the company from common knowledge. There wasn't even a sign on the outside, and it was unlisted in almost every data-centre he could get his hands on.

The only reason Miguel had even heard about it's existence was a passing comment from one of his superiors, about obtaining a special formula from them. And he knew that if Alcemax was that interested in something, then it was definitely worth his attention. The fact that it shared a name with the original Spider-man only served to perk his industries further. Perhaps there was some sort of tangible link, not that it would really help him out in the long run. After all, Peter Parker was dead, and so was everyone who ever knew him.

He stopped for a second, as he looked at his heads-up display, which showed absolutely no signs of life. That weirded him out, because he knew that as a corporation, Parker Industries should have security guards, at least. Even if they where only there to monitor the cameras. But he didn't let that stop him. No, he was to focused on his task. He continued to crawl, making his way to the top suite, where he was sure he might find some answers. He figured that by that time, his sensors would pick up at least one or two bodies.

It took him the better part of an hour to reach the top, as he was forced to stop several times and wait for security drones to go past. Normally, he could rely on his suit to hide him from those kinds of devices, but he wasn't so sure this time. It would take a lot of resources for a company to remain independent from Alcemax for so long, so clearly they where a force to be reckoned with, and could surely afford top-of-the-line security, which might be capable of picking him up. But, regardless of the obstacles, he managed to reach the end of the ventilation shaft.

Curiously, there was a rooftop access, which not many businesses had, given the risk of an intruder. Especially since there where so many buildings surrounding it that where so much taller than it was. It would have been extremely easy for him to get to this point simply by gliding down from one of them. _I'll know that for next time, _he thought to himself as he opened the grate, and dropped down.

Miguel was hit with the most strange sensation. He felt like he had suddenly entered a holographic simulator set to an early 2000's setting. The walls where actually covered in what looked like authentic wall-paper, save for the occasional worn-out spot. In an off-shooting room, he could see an ancient fridge and stove. In another, an antique Television set, which nowadays would cost several million dollars to find, not even considering the cost of updating the software to be compatible with modern technology. He was impressed, actually. The sheer amount of wealth all around him was astounding, and proved his theory that the owner of the company was very powerful, and would be a strong potential ally in his fight against the Mega-corperation Alcemax.

But then he saw it.

Out of everything in the entire building, this was the most spectacular. _No, _Miguel thought as he approached the display case. _No, this is the most valuable, most precious thing in the entire city! The country, perhaps!_ He could hardly contain himself as he ran his hand over the glass, which shielded possibly the greatest relic of his predecessor from the world. The costume of the Original Spider-man. He was sure of it even before his sensors picked up small bits of Peter Parker's D.N.A. He quickly looked for some sort of seal which he could pop, not wanting such a relic to remain here, hidden away from the world, who had the right to see it. Eventually, he found one.

It was just to bad that something managed to grab him from behind, and throw him across the room before he could do anything. He shook his head, clearing his vision as he looked around for whoever attacked him, but could not find anything. Not even a heat-print. "Two can play this game," he muttered as he activated his camouflage, which rendered him completely invisible to the naked eye.

"No," a sharp voice replied from behind, as a foot was driven into his back, sending him tot he floor again. "You can't even _hope _to play this game with me," the voice continued as Miguel spun around, and delivered a powerful blow into thin air. "Miguel." He felt the blood drain from his face as he heard his name being spoken. How could this unseen attacker know his name, he had always been so careful with it! "I know a lot of things about you, Mr O'hara," the voice said in an almost casual tone, which concerned him even more. "So much, that I'm actually surprised it took you this long to find this place."

"Where are you?" Miguel snapped, as he used his suit's instruments to try and locate the attacker, "who are you?" _She could ruin everything for me! If she went to Alcemax I would be done for! _He paniced as he realized the full implications of what the woman could do to his life.

"That's not really important," the voice replied casually. "And no need to worry. I'm not interested in selling any information to Alcemax. If I wanted to ruin you," the voice continued as something moved to his left. "I'd do it myself," the voice said, as Miguel's suit began to power down without his consent. His heart began to race as the voice materialized into a young woman, no older than twenty-five. She had shoulder length black hair, that hid a slim, pale-skinned face. Her black body-suit clung to her skin tightly as she flashed a small device in front of his eyes.

"How did you-?" Miguel asked, dumbfounded.

"Know your name?" the woman replied with a raised eyebrow, and a slight tug on her lips. "I'll keep that to myself for a while. As for this," she said as she pocketed the device, "it's an antique by your standards. Older than that fridge, actually," she continued as she turned her back on him, which was a rather surprising move on her part. If her where in her position, he would never have done something like that. "But it still works better than anything that's on the market."

"With tech like that," Miguel said, hoping to keep her distracted long enough to figure out a way out of his prediciment, or how to beat her. "Why not sell it to the public? You could easily shut down Alce-"

"I'm not interested in selling it," the woman replied with a shrug as she turned into the Kitchen. "I've got no interest in a public life," she continued from inside the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink, Mr O'hara, I daresay you must be thirsty after the long trek through the vents."

"I-" Miguel stammered, still completely stuck on how she could possibly have known the things she was saying. "If I had known about the roof," he shot back, "I would have been here sooner. But you where expecting that, weren't you?"

"Well it was more of a test," the woman replied casually as Miguel ran his hand over a section of wall that had four long scratches cut into it. "I wanted to see ow much like him you really are. And so far, I'm impressed. He'd be trying to keep me talking as well." _Shit! _Was all that ran through his mind as he began to suspect that the woman might be a telepath of sorts, and was preparing a trap for him.

"I'm glad that-" Miguel began to reply.

"Yes, I am a telepath...of sorts," the woman replied as she opened the fridge door. "Not nearly as powerful as the Professor, though. And I've got drinks here, if you want them. Coffee, Red wine, White wine, Root Beer. Take you pick. I've kept hem for a special occasion like this." Miguel scratched his head, wondering why this woman was all of a sudden being so kind to him, after having the perfect chance to kill him.

"I'm not thirsty," he said simply.

"Yes you are," she replied as she returned from the kitchen, carrying two cups, one in each hand. One was a simple mug, while the other looked more like an old thermos that people in the old days used to take camping. The mug which was filled with a murky brown liquid, she handed to him. He gave it a good smell, and discovered that it was in fact, coffee. But different than what he was used to. Gone where the smells of chemicals that improved brain functions for the day. Instead, it smelled like...well like he expected it should smell. "And that is the real deal," the woman said quietly, "some of the last real coffee in this part of the world. Last I heard Wakanda still has a few fields growing. But pretty soon it's gonna be all gone." She sighed as she took a long gulp of her own drink, which for some reason, he knew wasn't the same beverage as what he had in his hands.

"What-"

"Do I want with you?" the woman replied with raised eyebrows. "Well it's very simple. I need your help, Miguel O'hara. I need you to stop something from happening in _his _time. In return for saving lives," she said as she indicated to the display case, containing Peter Parker's suit. "I will give you that."

"What do you need me to do?" Miguel replied, knowing that whatever this woman wanted, it was very serious. And that it was also very big, if it had tangible links to Peter Parker.

"Stop him from making a mistake," the woman replied, as she once again motioned towards the suit in the display case. "Go back in time, and stop him from making a mistake. A mistake which could kill thousands of people."

**Present Day:**

"Being single really fucking sucks," Peter cursed to himself as he landed on the side of a building. And that wasn't an understatement in his mind either. No, he was really feeling it this time. M.J had moved on to dating a firefighter, who was a really nice guy, in Peter's opinion. He had met the man on several occasions, and was glad that his ex-fiance had found someone like that. Carlie Cooper on the other hand...well she had just gone and dumped him out of the blue, due to his habit of having to go and save the world. _Oh yeah sure babe, _he muttered in his mind, _I'll stop stopping bank robberies so that we can spend more quality time together having me move around furniture. _A part of him was actually glad to be rid of her.

But that still didn't stop his current mindset.

He. Was. Lonely.

Every night after sixteen hours of non-stop action, he would slip into his apartment by himself. He would flick through the channels on the television he had in his bedroom before dozing off for a few hours. Then, he would wake up and go out into the world as either Peter Parker and try and earn a living, or as Spider-man and save countless lives without a dime to show for it. _The money situation wouldn't be so bad, _he thought to himself as he shot out a line of webbing towards an adjacent building, _if I had someone to share things with. I mean- _his thoughts where cut off by a beeping sound coming from his left pocket. Mid-swing, he pulled out his phone, which had a direct link to Avengers Tower.

"Thank-you for calling our after-hours hotline," Peter mused after he clicked the 'talk' button.

"We've got a report of shouts coming from south-east of your position," the voice of Steve Rogers, Captain America, said curtly as Peter landed on a nearby rooftop. "Satellites and street-cameras show that Castle's already in the vicinity. So-" IN a heartbeat, Peter understood what the Captain wanted him to do. He wanted him to stop the madman vigilante from potentially harming innocents, or killing off potential informants.

"Right, Oh Captain My Captain," Peter replied as he leaped off of the rooftop, and turned his momentum in the proper direction. He could already see several buildings which he knew would interest both criminals and Frank Castle alike. Mostly because of it's dark and decrepit nature, which was highlighted by the long shadows of the encroaching night. Peter sighed to himself slightly as he landed on the side of that very building, listening for sounds. Seconds ticked by, until he heard the distinct sound of a van veering into a parking garage. Gun-shots where ringing out from the van, almost confirming the occupant to his ears. He let out a loose sigh as he launched a strand of webbing downwards, so that it connected with the side of the van. With ease, he was able to land on it's roof, even with the Punisher doing his absolute best to push him off by veering from side to side.

"Oi!" Peter shouted as he slapped the roof, "Frank, pull over! Your Mom's on the line!" Almost on cue, the van screeched to the side, nearly tipping itself over, as two black sedans pulled up and opened their doors, producing four armed men in full body-suits, wearing helmets and all. Almost simultaneously, the door to Frank's battle-van popped open, revealing a mounted machine-gun.

"Bite this you pieces of shit!" Castle roared as he let loose a barrage of bullets, which ripped right into the men from the sedans, who fell to the ground almost instantly. Only one of them managed to get off a shot, and that one went off-target, and nearly hit Peter. He managed to doge, as six more black sedans pulled into view, followed by what looked like three armoured trucks.

"Who the hell did you piss off this time, Frank!" Peter quipped as he took cover on the other side of the van, just as bullets began to fly. Castle joined him shortly, exchanging his mounted machine gun for an R.P.G. "That had better be-"

"You really think I fucking care if it's legal?" Castle shouted back as he braced the weapon against his shoulder. "This is big, really big. And I gotta take these guys out before-"

"We arrest people," Peter replied as he pushed Castle back against the Van. "Not blow them to kingdom come!"

"Your rule, not mine!" Castle roared as he slipped out of Peter's grip, and peered around the edge of his trademark vehicle. As the bullets continued to fly, Frank let loose a single shot from the rocket-powered grenade, which slammed into the side of one of the armoured trucks. A massive fireball shot upwards, as the hail of bullets stopped for a brief second. Only one, though, as they quickly resumed. Though this time, Peter could tell that they where being flanked on either side, and he decided to leap into action, as Frank produced two sub-machine guns, one for each hand. Peter hoped that he could be fast enough to avoid more fatalities, as he crashed two heads against one another.

He rolled to the side as six bullets dove towards where he had been not a second ago, and he fired off two strings of webbing. Both hit their targets, which he whip-lashed into two more bodies as a grenade rolled into view. Fortunately, he was fast enough to web it up before it exploded, also managing to kick one of the gunmen away. However, that seemed to cost him dearly, as one of the two final assailants leaped onto his back, faster than he could have expected.

Before Peter could throw the man off, something dug into his side, hard. It felt like a knife-wound, but not nearly as deep as it should have been. Not that he was complaining, because no pain was good pain. After he managed to throw his attacker off, he took a quick glance to the side, and noted that his right side had three inch-long cuts, running parallel to his rib cage. Not enough to take him out of business, but certainly enough to sting, and require some cleaning when he got home. But more than that, he was curious about the man's speed. _Must be a mutant, _Peter thought with a slight shrug as he turned back towards Castle, who was in the process of firing a bullet into the head of one of the assailants.

"We don't-" he began, as fire raced up his side, stemming from the wound he had received.

"You should get that checked out," Castle huffed with indifference. "Or don't. One less cape to get in my way," he muttered as police sirens began to blare in the distance.

"I don't wear a-" Peter began to reply, before a blood-curdling scream split the early night. He took one look at the Punisher, who simply turned away, towards his van. Peter sighed with a hint of pain as he once more launched himself into the air, towards the scream. It had come from less than three blocks away, he was sure of it. It only took him mere seconds to see if he was sure.

On a high-rise was a young woman, lying face-down in a pool of blood. And one didn't have to be a genius to know that that was a bad thing. Even before he fully landed, he shot a blob of webbing towards the wound on the woman's neck. He had designed a special feature in his webbing several years ago, after an encounter with the Sinister six left him with a hole in his chest. His webbing was now infused with a special sealant, which would stop bleeding wounds within a few seconds, and deliver a powerful anti-bacterial medicine, reducing the chances of infection greatly. Of course, that was also dependant on how quickly the wound was properly treated by a professional. And since he wasn't one, he knew he had to get the woman to a hospital, and fast. He looked up, judging how far away the nearest hospital was as anew, more powerful wave of pain washed over him. Clearly, whatever weapon had been used against him had been tipped with something. Which meant that he had to get treatment himself.

And no hospital would treat him while he had his mask on. So he needed to go to someone he trusted. And the Avengers Mansion was on the other side of the city. Which only left one possible option: The Baxter Building.

Located less than three miles away from his position, the home of the fantastic four was one of New York city's modern landmarks. A popular destination for tourists, scientists and the occasional ex-girlfriend and soon-to-be ex-girlfriend of Johnny Storm. Peter had worked with the team on several occasions, even filling in for a few members more than once, when they where away on personal business. He was on better terms with them than he was with the Avengers for the longest time. Often, he would even go there for medical treatment, if he couldn't get to a hospital in time. He trusted Susan Storm, the medical side of the family.

He landed on the top entrance platform, still carrying the girl over his shoulder as he limped to the door. His every breath was beginning to burn. His whole left side felt like it was on fire. Fortunately, he didn't even have to reach the door before it swung open. Only one body exited, though. That of Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman. In the background, he heard her say something as the lights began to dim around his line of sight. He was losing consciousness, fast.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh…my head," Peter muttered as he opened his eyes, finding that he was lying on a bed. At first, he couldn't quite remember why he was there. But then, things started to flood back to him. He remembered running into the Punisher, those weird ass Maggia types, and finding the woman drenched in blood. That was what caused him to jolt up in surprise. He immediately remembered that he was in the Baxter Building, having experienced some symptoms from a wound he received from one of the Maggia, who were not above poisoning their switchblades. A fact which he had come to grips with a long time ago. Luckily, his healing abilities made him immune to most poisons.

"Good morning, Spider-Man," H.E.R.B.I.E, the Fantastic Four's personal robotic assistant said as it floated into the room. Peter let out a small sigh as he watched the floating hunk of white metal bob up and down, humming to itself. He never told anyone, but he always thought the little robot looked like a child at Christmas time. "Your blood tests have come back. There is no residual poisoning in your bloodstream. Only trace amounts of radiation which could-"

"I know about the radiation," Peter mocked as he got out of the bed he had been lying in. "Radioactive spider, remember, Threepio?"

"I am afraid I do not understand," H.E.R.B.I.E replied with a surprisingly confused tone of voice. "Who is-"

"Never mind," Peter said with a slight shrug as he rolled his shoulders back, finding no pain whatsoever. "Wouldn't expect a robot to get a pop-culture reference like that. Who all is here? I need to know who-"

"Mrs. Richards is the only other conscious human being present in the building, aside from yourself," H.E.R.B.I.E. said as he floated to Peter's right side. "The Jane Doe is currently with Mrs. Richards in the main laboratory. She has instructed me to inform you that she wishes to discuss the young woman's well-being before you go," Peter merely nodded as he walked. He knew he couldn't stay very long, because he had to get to Horizon Labs. And because he knew that Sue would most likely be completely floundering in work related to the Fantastic Four. Although she was a brilliant Scientist in her own right, she was nowhere near as intelligent as her husband, Mister Fantastic. So, without much further ado, he entered the laboratory were Sue was, seeing her as he had expected, surrounded by paperwork. All around her frame, machines wizzed and beeped with information almost too fast for the human eye to interpret. Only a combination of his humble, yet brilliant mind and enhanced senses allowed him to interpret everything. Most of it seemed to be related to some form of cosmic research, while others where cellular research.

"You're up far earlier than I expected," Sue commented as she flipped a strand of her hair out of her face. He could instantly tell that she was very exhausted, and over-worked. He guessed that the added chore of tending to him may very well have come close to being the straw that broke the camel's back. "H.E.R.B.I.E said-"

"H.E.R.B.I.E doesn't even know who C3PO is," Peter quipped as he picked up a random document from the table, and studied it briefly. "How could he know what's going on with me? I don't even know," he continued as his eyes flew up and down the paper. "Your equation for the re-entry s wrong, by the way," he said as he set the paper down back where it had been. "The dorsal fin would create a tail-spin effect. Like riding the tea-cups at an amusement park," he chimed in lightheartedly. "But also on a roller-coaster at the same time. I suggest reducing the angle by a few degrees to help alleviate the effect enough for the pilot to be able to maintain control." Sue looked at him with surprise, as if he had just alleviated something that had been weighing on her shoulders for some time. Something which had obviously been giving her a lot of trouble.

"Oh my god," she stammered in a disbelieving tone of voice, as if she could not believe how stupid she had been. "You're right! How could I have missed-?" she continued to mutter to herself as she snatched the paper up in her hands and moved to one of the computers. She expertly typed in a series of commands that switched the monitor's screen into a virtual simulation of a rocket's re-entry. Peter noticed the changes he had suggested where made, and that it had the predicted outcome, of an increased survivability. "Damn good thing I decided to keep you here and not drop you off at the hospital," she remarked as the simulation played out. "Why Reed insists on leaving me with all this paperwork is beyond me. I've got enough to deal with having two kids in the house, and being an occasional superhero." Peter could only chuckle, unable to fully imagine what the invisible Woman was going through at the moment. "There's also a problem with the hydraulics I'm having some trouble surmounting, if you want to take a look at those sometime," Sue said as she propped herself against a table, "but that's not my most pressing one."

"Oh?" Peter asked, somewhat intrigued, "what is?"

"She is," Sue remarked as she pointed across the room, to what looked like a sci-fi hypobaric chamber. Upon closer investigation, Peter discovered that the girl he had rescued earlier was inside, and still unconscious. The two of them moved closer, as Sue picked up a clip-board with several papers attached to it. "Her vitals are…..off. I can't quite pin-point what's wrong with her heartbeat, but it seems to be out of balance," Sue continued with a sigh. "And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Her bloodwork nearly made the computer crash, her body temperature is non-existent, and she's been infected with whatever disease the knife that scratched you was carrying."

"But it's non-lethal, right?" Peter asked as he ran his hand along the length of the chamber. "I'm fine, after all," he added in as a look of concern crossed the invisible woman's face. A look which did not bode well for him, or the girl.

"Non-lethal to you," Sue corrected. "Jury's still out on what kind of effect it will have on her system, given that she's more human than you are." _That's true, _Peter thought to himself as he leaned in closer towards the glass. He hadn't thought of that possibility, and was now cursing himself for it. It was so simple, really. "And there's more," Sue said heavily.

"Tell me," Peter asked.

"Whatever she's got," Sue sighed as she scratched her forehead, "it's very dangerous. I'm afraid that it's contagious, Peter. Not to mention she's got something to do with the mob. And I won't keep her here, because once my kids get back…."

"I get it," Peter cut in as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "See if you can send her to Horizon. We've got the facilities to keep an eye on her, and possibly engineer something to combat a cure." The real reason he wanted this girl to wind up at Horizon was that they were the facility that he trusted almost as much as the Fantastic Four. Only their scientific breakthroughs were even remotely on the same level. A fact which was actually confirmed by Reed Richards himself, albeit using mathematical equations and scientific terminology that was beyond most. The other reason he wanted her there was so that he could keep an eye on her. After all, he couldn't help but feel responsible for her condition. If only he had been a little quicker.

xxx

**2099**

"You want to break into Alchemax's time-research lab?" Miguel blurted assertively to the woman in front of him. He couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth at the moment. The security alone would be nearly impossible to penetrate. And on top of that, t was common knowledge that one could not pin-point the exact time they wished to travel to. Many would-be heroes had attempted to go back, and warn the Avengers of their impending doom.

A doom which still remained a complete mystery to most. All data from the event had disappeared, and there where very few records that remained. All that Miguel knew was that a mysterious foe had managed to infiltrate the Avengers one night, and somehow killed most of their main roster in the space of an hour. Police records were sketchy about the whole incident. Some chalked it up to the Masters of Evil, while others say there might be something more to it, after all, a fight would most likely have spilled out onto the streets below. Perhaps the Heroes had simply retired, and wanted to save face? Or even, as some suggested, make it seem like they were gone, so that would-be villains would emerge, only to be defeated?

"Yes," the woman replied simply, as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Yes, we need to send you back in time. Once there," she said as she crossed the room, "you can stop him from making his mistake, and save his life."

"And just how am I supposed to do that?" Miguel asked abruptly, "they've never been able to-"

"Use this," the woman replied as she produced a small device from behind her back. It fit perfectly into the palm of her hand, and was in a cube-like shape. He had no idea what it was, or what it did, but felt that it would work, if only because it was being given to him by a woman who's company had managed to evade Alchemax's control for so many years. "You know as well as I do that the powers that be would use that time-portal to their own advantage. So, back in the early days of the machine, I planted a virus, which scrambled the co-ordinates anytime someone tried to go back more than two years. This device," she continued with absolute confidence, "negates that virus. It will allow you to travel back to within a few months of…well, it." She tilted her head to the side in an awkward way, which Miguel knew would cause most people a lot of discomfort, due to the speed at which she moved. Yet another thing he had to learn about the mystery woman.

"And once I get there?" Miguel asked as he took the device from her hands. "What then?"

"I've got a special two-way transmitter that can travel through time," the woman replied shortly. "A gift from a friend that he gave me a long time ago," Miguel was unimpressed by her statement. That kind of technology had been in circulation for years. He had expected something a little bit more advanced. "I'll be able to feed you more information on the fly," she said before taking a quick peek out the window. "Be there after ten tonight. We'll need all the time we can get." He didn't quite understand that, and decided to voice his question.

"If time is of the urgency," Miguel asked impatiently, "then why not-"

"Security will be too tight in a few hours," she stated clearly. "We won't be able to hide our presence for very long with all of their scanners, even with my technology at our disposal" He found himself unable to argue with her logic, but couldn't help but notice that something was still nagging at his sub-conscious. He needed to know more about this woman, and why she wanted his help. Clearly, she was capable of handling herself. Why did she not simply send herself back in time, and save herself the trouble? And why didn't she go back earlier? Why wait until now? If it was so important, then she should have gotten on top of things right away instead of waiting around for him to come to her.

xxx

"Morning, Peter," Samantha Nylund, the receptionist for Horizon Labs section seven said as he passed by. Over three hours had passed since he had woken up in the Baxter building. Since then, he had gone on to stop a series of muggings, stop by Avengers Tower and go home to change in record time. "Max sent you a new project. Something pretty big, by the sounds of it. Came in from _across town." _Peter smiled at her warmly as she said this. At Horizon Labs, 'Across town' meant from either the Baxter Building or Pym Labs, and everyone, even janitors and receptionists knew it.

"Thanks Sam," He replied as he pulled on his lab coat even tighter. "How'd everything go yesterday with your exam?"

"I never want to see another Starbucks or Red Bull again," the twenty-something woman replied with a smirk. "But I think I aced it. Not so surprising, since I work in a bio-chemical lab," she continued as the phone began to ring. She let out a small huff before moving to pick up the device. "Good Morning, Horizon Labs. How may I help you? Yes. Yes, our lead scientist just arrived," she said confidently into the phone. "No, he only just arrived, would you like to speak with…..I'll put him on then," she finished as she handed him the cordless, top-of-the-line phone, which had actually been made in-house at Horizon. It was the first of its kind, able to send information at close to the speed of light.

"Hello?" Peter said as he pressed the device to his ear, almost knowing who was on the other end of the line.

"Good, they put you on the case," the voice of Susan Richards replied. "I was hoping they would. I don't want some complete idiot messing around with this stuff."

"I understand," Peter said as he picked up a small file which was waiting in his inbox.

"You had a chance to read the packet?" Sue asked.

"Just picked it up," he replied with a slight sigh, as he read the portion that recommended full containment. "How long do you expect the anesthesia will last?"

"Anesthesia?!" Samantha half-blurted, "you mean there's a person in-" Peter held up a single finger, stopping the words in her mouth.

"Less than an hour, I'd say," Sue continued, with the tone of her voice picking up slightly. "And who's there with you, Peter? She sounds cute, you should ask her out for dinner." Peter let out a small chuckle as he continued to flip through the packet, finding nothing that Sue hadn't already told him several hours ago.

"I'm too busy at the moment," he replied stiffly. "I'll be in touch if I find anything more, alright?"

"Alright," Sue's voice said before clicking off. Immedietly, Peter spun around on the spot, and pointed towards the receptionist.

"A few hours ago a woman was injected with an unknown toxin," he stated clearly, "she's to be kept in isolation until we can figure out what she's got in her system. I've got a contact who arranged for me to be the lead scientist," he continued as he gave Samantha a re-assuring nod. He should have been anticipating her reaction, given that she had only been there for two months. And in that period, they had not been granted the opportunity to work on any meta-human or mutant individuals. Which was somewhat uncommon.

"Oh…" Samantha replied, in a slightly shaken tone of voice. "Noth…nothing, dangerous, right?"

"No," he smiled positively, "no, our containment facility is made of bulletproof glass. You'd need a laser to cut through it," he continued in a re-assuring tone of voice. "On top of that," he said, "if for some reason the glass was breeched, the doors will lock themselves immedietly and a call will be put out straight to both the police and the Avengers. This was all thought through thoroughly," he finished before turning away from the young woman and towards the door that led to his laboratory. Inside, he found that indeed the woman was inside the containment facility. But instead of a cylindrical chamber, she was on a bed.

The containment glass formed a 'room' which was the size of an average living room. In one corner, there was a medium-sized bed, which the woman was lying on. In another, there was a sectioned-off portion with a small bathroom. The wall was there so that they could have some privacy. In the corner closest to him, there was a small desk, with a computer on it. And in the final corner, a station with emergency medical equipment, a two-way communicator and a small slot for items to be passed through. The only other major feature was the large, re-enforced door that dominated the centre. That was for him to be able to enter and exit the room, while wearing a hazmat containment suit.

On his side of the glass was his lab. It contained a half-dozen projects in various stages of completion. Ranging from improved G.P.S devices to a radio that used a special signal that could theoretically pass through time itself. In one, locked chest there where several personal projects related to his superhero career. He kept them there because of the lax oversight on work. His boss's motto was that as long as something was being invented, he didn't care where it came from. So long as it wasn't unethical, and didn't interfere with one's work output at all.

"Okay," he sighed as he walked over to one of the tables, which had the woman's personal articles laid out in sealed plastic bags for him to examine. One such item was her wallet, which was displaying her identification. "So, Miss Jubilation Lee, let's see what's up with your D.N.A," he continued as he slipped on a pair of gloves, and picked up a small vial that contained a sample of her blood work. Hopefully, there would be some answers inside for him to use.


End file.
